Quiz: Test your knowledge of songs, movies and traditions
One of the memes circulating on Facebook really resonates with me. It says, “Christmas decor isn’t meant to be sleek and minimalist, it is supposed to look like joy threw up
in your house.”
That was the philosophy that drove the Christmas Light Tours I did for 25 years. I didn’t want houses that made you say, “Oh, isn’t that precious?” I wanted, “HOLY GUACAMOLE!” Or the equivalent.
I have no such expectations for my other Christmas tradition, 22 years of holiday quizzes. These have been created more as a brief diversion from Christmas Day or Eve chaos than as an occasion for shock and awe. But people still seem to like them, and I enjoy doing them, so let’s act like holiday trivia knowledge threw up in your house and begin my 23rd Christmas season quiz.
The answers will be posted at the end. No peeking.
1. In “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” Harry and Marv are captured by police as they’re being swarmed by:
A. Wild dogs; B. Pigeons; C. Rats; D. Turtle doves
2. This fairy tale inspired the making of gingerbread houses:
A. Beauty and the Beast; B. Cinderella; C. Hansel and Gretel; D. Rumpelstiltskin
3. The work of John Wesley Work Jr., the first African American collector of Negro spirituals, preserved this Christmas song for modern singers and listeners:
A. “Go Tell it on the Mountain”; B. “The First Noel”; C. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”; D. “Wade in the Water”
4. What is traditionally on each side of a dreidel?
A. A letter of the Hebrew alphabet; B. Picture of an animal; C. Picture of a candle; D. Picture of a traditional Hanukkah dish
5. In European folklore, horned figure who punishes naughty kids during the Advent season:
A. Elf on the Shelf; B. Santos; C. Belsnickel; D. Krampus
6. First choice to star alongside
Bing Crosby in “White Christmas:”
A. Fred Astaire; B. Bob Hope; C. Gene Kelly; D. Danny Kaye
7. NOT a quote from Buddy in “Elf:”
A. Smiling’s my favorite; B.
He’s an angry elf; C. You sit on a throne of lies; D. You’ll shoot your eye out.
8. In its original Latin, the opening line of “O Come All Ye Faithful” is:
A. Adeste Fidelis; B. Veni, vidi, vici; C. Quo Vadis; D. O Tannenbaum.
9. The angel’s warning that King Herod intended to search for Jesus and destroy him came in a dream to:
A. Mary; B. Joseph; C. The Shepherds; D. Jesus
10. She grew up on a Christmas tree farm run by her parents:
A. Taylor Swift; B. Reba McEntire;
C. Carrie Underwood; D. Lauren Boebert
11. NOT something that wreaks destruction inside the Griswold home on Christmas Eve:
A. Police SWAT team; B. Dog chasing squirrel; C. Cat electrocuted; D. Sewer gas explosion; E. Tree burns up
12. According to the cartoon and the book, this is the kind of idea the Grinch had to silence the Whos:
A. Diabolical; B. Beautiful; C. Wonderful, awful. D. Grinchlike
13. Dating back to 1864, this song recorded by Gene Autry in 1953 is considered the second oldest secular Christmas song — behind only “Jingle Bells” — and the first to focus primarily on Santa Claus:
A. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”; B. “Up on the Housetop”; C. “Here Comes Santa Claus”; D.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
14. This country has a Christmas tradition of a witch dropping presents through the chimney:
A. Iran; B. England; C. Italy; D. Spain; E. Finland
15. In the movie classic “Miracle on 34th Street,” this is the gift Kris Kringle finds to convince Susan he’s really Santa Claus:
A. Chatty Cathy doll; B. Red Ryder BB Gun; C. Puppy; D. Little Brother; E. House
16. This toy with origins in “Sesame Street” was a Christmas sensation in 1996:
A. Tickle Me Elmo; B. Talking Grouch; C. Kermit the Frog board game; D. Teddy Ruxpin
17. In one odd Christmas Day tradition, the first person who finds this ornament hidden on the tree gets a prize:
A. Bell; B. Apple; C. Pickle; D. Scrapple; E. Ghost
18. Scrooge’s nephew:
A. Bob; B. Ted; C. Jacob; D. Fred
19. He invented Festivus:
A. George Costanza; B. Frank Costanza; C. Kramer; D. Santos; E. Seinfeld
20. What did Harry Potter get for his first Christmas at Hogwarts?
A. Nimbus 2000 flying broomstick; B. Magic mirror; C. Invisibility cloak; D. Dobby; E. Hedwig
OK, let’s see how you did. The answers are: 1. B 2. C. 3. A 4. A 5. D6.A7.D8.A9.B.10.A11.D12. C 13. B 14. C 15. E 16. A 17. C 18. D.
19. B 20. C.
Merry Christmas! I hope you find the pickle.